Wolfgang,
         You appear (like a lot of people on mudcat) to have a problem with the word 'Great'as in 'Great Britain.' This is not some arrogant affectation on our part, as the expression goes back to Roman times. They used it to distinguish our island from Ireland, so we became Big Brettania and Ireland became Small Brettenia.
          The Normans used a similar expression to distinguish between the two land masses based on their respective size.